Morning Chalk Up Community

New Google My Business Changes and How They’ll Impact Gym Owners

April 11, 2022 by

Google My Business, if you're not sure what it is, is a place to list your gym on Google so people can find your business easier.

A Google My Business profile displays your gym's most vital information such as your address, phone number, website, reviews, and other miscellaneous business information.

It also helps your business get found online in key places such as Google search and Google Maps. In fact, sometimes you can start getting calls and people visiting your gym shortly after setting one up since they'll immediately start ranking on Google.

Recently, however, there have been a lot of new changes coming to Google Business Profile that gym owners should be aware of since they will impact how you interact with your Google My Business profile.

In short, Google has changed the name of Google My Business to Google Business Profile and they're updating the way you manage your profile by transitioning from the My Business app to Google Maps.

Google My Business is Now Called Google Business Profile

One of the biggest changes to Google My Business is the name change. After years of of being called Google My Business, it will now be called Google Business Profile.

This change, while it does not impact your business that much, is helpful to know so you don't get confused when trying to search online for help around your Google Business Profile or to manage it online.

Now that you know about the name change I'll be referring to Google My Business as Google Business Profile in the rest of this article. 😉

Google is Disabling the Google My Business App

Google announced that they will be removing the My Business app. This was simply the mobile app you could download to your phone and easily manage your Google Business Profile.

However, they didn't quite leave us hanging with no way to manage our profile on mobile, it's just moving places. Instead of having a dedicated app for Google Business Profile, you can manage your profile directly from the Google Maps app.

In fact, I just learned myself that you were able to manage your profile from Google Maps for a while now, so if you've already been doing that then nothing is changing for you.

To manage your Google Business Profile on Google Maps, simply open up the app on your phone and make sure it's logged into the Google account managing your profile.

Next, tap on your profile image and the following should show up:

Tap on Your Business Profiles just under Your Profile

Once that pops up, simply tap on Your Business Profiles just under Your Profile and it will show all the Google Business Profiles tied to your account. Finally, tap on the one you want.

Example: Your business should show up where my business, Fitr Media, is showing. If it doesn't you're probably logged into the wrong Google account.

From here, simply tap to enter your specific Google Business Profile

No More Logging In Through the Web Portal

Historically business owners were able to log into their Google Business Profile online by going to Google.com/business. While at the time of writing this article this is still possible, Google has said it will primarily be supporting this experience for businesses with multiple locations and that smaller businesses should start managing their profile through the Google Maps app.

What's Not Changing

Although the above changes are coming to Google Business Profile, much of the important features remain the same. Below is a quick overview of a few aspects of your profile that aren't changing. Be sure to double check that you have them filled out correctly since they play an important role in your profile to be able to rank well and send you more leads.

Your NAP Info is Still Important

NAP simply stands for Name, Address, Phone number. It's crucial that this information is identical when included on other places such as your website, Yelp listing, Facebook page, or any other place online you add your NAP information.

Here is a free tool you can use to double check your NAP information and make sure it is identical across all mediums. Simply input your business's name, address, and phone number and it will spit out a free report.

Your Business's Primary Category

On your Google Business Profile you can set your business's primary category. This is important for letting Google understand what you do and it also helps your profile show up in search results when someone looks for a local gym.

For example, a primary business category for a CrossFit gym could be the category, Gym since there is no category CrossFit gym on Google Business Profile.

Prioritize Getting New Reviews

Having reviews on your Google Business Profile is extremely useful for quite a few reasons. For one it's obviously good for word of mouth, but it's also good for SEO.

While location is the largest ranking factor when it comes to Google Business Profiles, reviews also play a big factor. For example, if you have two identical businesses at the same location and one has more positive reviews than the other business it will most likely be ranked higher in search results. But, like everything in SEO, this isn't always the case since there are other ranking factors to be considered.

To learn how to find your unique Google review link that you can send directly to your gym members when requesting reviews, follow this guide by Google.

Add Your Website to Your Google Business Profile

A huge problem I see all the time on a business's Google Business Profile is not adding their website. If you have a website, it's vital that you include it on your profile. Not only will it let a potential customer go to your website to learn more about your gym but it also gives your website a backlink. If you're unsure what that is check out this other article I wrote on the Morning ChalkUp that will explain everything.

Conclusion

That was a quick overview of the new changes coming to Google Business Profile and how they'll impact your gym. If you have any questions simply comment on this article and I'll try my best to help you out.

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